origin
origin definition
ori·gin (ôr′ə jin, är′-)
noun
- a coming into existence or use; beginning
- parentage; birth; lineage
- that in which something has its beginning; source; root; cause
- Anat. the less movable of the two points of attachment of a muscle, usually the end attached to the more rigid part of the skeleton
- Math.
- in a system of Cartesian coordinates, the point at which the axes intersect; base point where the abscissa and ordinate equal zero
- any zero reference point from which measurement begins
Etymology: ME origyne < MFr origine < L origo (gen. originis) < oriri, to rise: see orient
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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